Imaging devices that detect various regions of the electromagnetic spectrum are used in a variety of commercial and military applications. One type of imaging device uses a focal plane array (FPA) to detect infrared radiation. An FPA, for example, may be formed from an array of infrared detectors, with each infrared detector functioning as a pixel to produce a two-dimensional image. The change in signal level output of each infrared detector due to received incident infrared radiation is translated into a time-multiplexed electrical signal by circuitry known as the readout integrated circuit (ROIC). The combination of the ROIC and the infrared detector array is commonly known as a FPA or infrared FPA. FPAs (e.g., microbolometer FPAs) are described in further detail in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,756,999, 6,028,309, and 6,852,976, which are herein incorporated by reference in their entirety.
Conventional hybrid detectors, such as night vision imagers for sensing both short wave infrared (SWIR) radiation and long wave infrared (LWIR) radiation, have used a hybrid approach requiring the use of indium bump interconnects to interconnect individual detector pixels to the ROIC. Such an approach has caused increased costs of manufacture and additional processing steps.
As a result, there is a need for an improved infrared focal plane array and methods of manufacture of such improved infrared focal plane arrays.